Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Blanc 2008 from indigenous grapes of the area...with lush mouthfeel and minerality it is a fun wine to try. I dont sell many but they are really good finds for people looking beyond pinot grigio from italy

Falanghina 2008 sounds like a race car but another grape type found in campania...clean and lovely...citrus and just the slightest hint of pepper...

Greco di Tufo bright yellow, some off aromas on the nose...want to try again

Monday, August 24, 2009

St Innocent 2007 Shea Vineyard...typical of the hard vintage...flat, uninteresting...a little watery..not a lot there there

St Innocent Temprance Hill 2007 from a little farther south and a little more heat...this wine shows really nicely in the nose, mushroom and earth...the flavors dont carry quite as much weight but still a nice wine and they have brought the price down significantly.

Mas de la Dame La Gourmande les Baux de Provence 2006 back in the day this would have been a great find ...grenache and syrah...and not terribly pricey but with all the great southern french wines coming in this is just so so...some earth some juice but nothing exciting.

Boxler Edelzwicker 2007 Alsace...normally a blend of left over whites, gewurztraminer and riesling being most predominate...surprisingly sweet for alsace...blame that on global warming...round on the mouth with a long minerally finish.

Case Ibidini Insolia Sicily 2008 from the warmth comes round almost tropical but not quite that sweet...creamy finish...not overly fruity but not mineral either...interesting wine

El Desafio de Jonata 2005... the defiance..named because they were told no one does well with cabernet sauvignon and it does have all the bells and whistles of good cab...but nothing truly as exciting as the syrah or cab franc...

la Sangre de Jonata 2005 . the blood of jonata... too many great aromas and bouquets to get all in one sniff...its all the things I love about syrah from the northern rhone .. juicy, dark fruits...a wonderful wine. one of my favorite wines of the year I would say

La Miel de Jonata NV ..the honey... liquid creme brulee...icewine and late harvest and trockens all together.. semillon and sauv blanc...one of the best desserts I have had in a long time

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The winery JC Cellars is know available in Missouri...not much made and not much that didnt go to st louis... really nice syrah and pinot though.. i did try the imposter which was a field blend with zinfandel and such..very disjointed and disappointing

Also tried some wines called Sans Promis which means without permission which is why they wont be made anymore because they were made without licenscing from the state of california.. chardonnays were way to pricey for the value and they wont ever be back in the state..anyway...interesting wines today all together...

Mazzoni Toscana Rosso 2006 aromas of sangiovese, light saddleleather, terroir followed by good red fruits and finishes with some dirt. one of the nicer super tuscans i have tried ina while..

Ernie Els Cirrus Syrah South Africa 2004...one of the best wines tried today.. beautiful nose that almost suggests northern rhone...iodine and earth...dark mocha and berries on the palate.. long finish that keeps going and changing

2006 Artesa Pinot Noir Reserve Carneros Estate a little more burgundian in style, according to the salesman...but hard to hide the calif fruit...and some floculates too

2005 Artesa Merlot Napa/Sonoma herbacious stinky feet...and not in a good way.. red fruiton the palate...with some of the stinky feet coming in..it seems cool climate merlot can either be like this or really tannic and enjoyable like truchards.

2005 Artesa Cabernet Napa/Sonoma some stinky feet but not as much as the merlot, nice coffee aromas medium bodied and nice finish

2005 Artesa Cabernet Reserve Napa penicl lead and traditional cab aromas...good fruit and tannin up front but slowly missing the middle and not a long finish.

2005 Artesa Elements a red blend...best of the bunch for me.. tempranillo as the base with a whole range of other red grapes... nice acidity, juicy and medium bodied...good food wine.

2007 Wine by Joe Pinot Noir light color, some whole cluster pressings... a touch of banana... good example of what oregon pinot can taste like.

Dobbes Grand Assemblage Cuvee Pinot Noir 07 lots of acidity...good fruit.. nice finish...a good example from a hard vintage... this wine changes each year with the blend..depending on the quality of the single vintages.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Care Syrah-Tempranillo blend 2007 dark purple and coffee on the palate...the northern rhone often gives this type of experience at 3 times the price....we have their rose for the summer too

Massone Gavi 2008 a touch nutty on the finish. a much more interesting and food friendly wine for summer than pinot grigio...made with the Cortese grape...a touch of stone fruit on the finish...nice and round palate

Vina Mayor Verdejo Spain 2007 one of the prominent white wines of spain, verdejo is a hard sell to american consumers... this wine really had a lot of torrontes feel to me..just a hint of sweetness with good acidity.

one of the premier suppliers for value wines from the old world...several of their wines have been staples in my corner for many years.

Val de Sil 2007 Godello mineral, a little herbacious and just a little too dry

Roger Champault, Sancerre 2007 sauvignon blanc as its meant to be.. light yellow/greenrounder than most sancerre i have had and still it was all stainless steel, stirred on lees i imagine, just a hint of sweetness that surprised me

Espelt Saulo Red 2007 from emporda region of spain near the french border.. a little green on the nose, grenache and carignan blend... rustic through and through...a little alcoholic on the palate... but a cute label and it tasted better after being open a few minutes.